Lincoln Twitter garden strikes gold at flower show

A garden that responds to people’s Twitter interactions with the RHS Chelsea Flower Show has managed to win a gold prize.

As previously reported, the Digital Capabilities garden by academics at the University of Lincoln needs interaction with two Twitter hashtags in order to reveal a hidden part of the garden.

The garden is divided behind hydraulic panels — one side displays a common garden landscape, however the hidden section is adorned with exotic plants.

The exotic section reveals itself when there is a lot of buzz around the Digital Capabilities or Chelsea Flower Show hashtags on Twitter.

The innovation managed to get the garden a gold in the Fresh Garden: Scape Design category.

The garden managed to attract attention from a number of people including comedian Jack Dee and TV presenter Davina McCall.

The garden was a crossover project between the University’s School of Computer Science, School of Psychology and School of Architecture, with help from Harfleet & Harfleet.

Dr Duncan Rowland, Reader in the School of Computer Science, said: “The project has been terrific fun to work on and has brought my own research into cultural computing, together with other computer scientists, psychologists, architects and students to create this award-winning garden.

“I’m delighted it has received this recognition, a testimony to the skill of the garden designers and the cross-disciplinary collaborative spirit fostered at the university.”

Head of Psychology at the University of Lincoln, Professor Harriet Gross, said: “We are absolutely thrilled and the students involved are ecstatic.

“It is a real testament to what can be achieved when such a talented team comes together to work in collaboration.”